Betting on Nationally Televised Games
by Predictem.com Staff
While this article isn't as important as it was in year's past before avenues such as DirecTV and the NFL Ticket came to life, it is still somewhat of an important variable in football handicapping.
Betting on nationally televised games is something you have to watch out for because you may be betting into inflated lines if your taking the public favorite as your bet in the game. The reason for this is that the oddsmakers and bookies all know that the public loves the favored team so they may inflate the line a bit which sucks the value out of the favored team thus giving the underdog some decent value.
the same can be said regarding betting "over the total points" as the books know that Joe Public loves to see lots of points scored and has a natural bias towards taking the over with hopes of seeing just that.
TV games that the big networks carry are much more likely to be watched and four times more likely to be bet on than games not getting as much attention. A ton of action on these games may also move the point spread from time to time which gives the favored side even less value.
Due to the fact that the NFL is the ultimate weekend warrior wagering event, many gamblers only bet on games that are televised. You can bet that if the bookies know their going to get one sided or receive a ton of action on a game that their going to get their share of value before a line is created. How many seasons and years was the underdog such a great bet in the NFL? It was huge! People started catching on though and it's not as valuable anymore, however, it's still the first side to look at before getting down on the MNF game.
Another problem with betting the favorite or the over in a Sunday night or Monday night football game is that after taking a beating all weekend long, many bettors are out in full force unloading their wallets in hopes of the late game being a bailout play that brings them even or shows them a small profit. You better believe the bookies are licking their chops waiting for just that!
In summary, we suggest that you always hunt for value on the dog or the under in a big nationally televised game as well as knowing what side the public is on which can be found at Wagertracker.com. Especially if that game is being played on a Sunday or Monday night and is a bailout game for those who got crushed during the weekend.
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